Empire, the hit soap opera about a dynastic family in the music industry, took cues from Glee by using original songs for its Shakespearean plots. The soundtrack mostly swings between Jussie Smollett, who plays a songwriter, and Yazz, an aspiring rapper. Smollett sounds best with appealing, if bland, R&B like "I Wanna Love You." On "Good Enough," he addresses a father who rejects him for his homosexuality. Yazz's swag raps are less convincing, but he manages a decent moment in "Drip Drop." Paterfamilias Terrence Howard tries to duet with Mary J Blige on "Shake Down," but he shouldn't have.